It's great to be back, Bob.
Tonight's American Horror Story: Cult explained SO many things, meaning we're finally coming out of an episode without wondering WTF is going on. And we were about to come out of an episode without having to deal with those damn killer clowns, but then there they were, stabbing Emma Roberts to death at a puppy jamboree. And yes, those clowns are part of the cult, controlled by Kai (Evan Peters).
"11/9" first went back to one Michigan polling station on election day, where Ally (Sarah Paulson), Ivy (Alison Pill), Winter (Billie Lourd), Harrison (Billy Eichner), Meadow (Leslie Grossman), Dr. Vincent (Cheyenne Jackson), Channel 7's Beverly Hope (Adina Porter), Channel 7's Serina Belinda (Roberts), Kai, and Gary, the one-armed Trump supporter played by Chaz Bono, were all casting their votes.
Throughout the night, through flashbacks to various times before and after the election, we learned how nearly everyone came to trust Kai. He was the only one who was there for them after they lost control when other people pissed them off, telling them their feelings were valid.
He encouraged Harrison to murder his asshole gym owner boss, who was constantly sending him and only him to clean up the saunas, and he helped him get rid of the body. He comforted Beverly, who reported on the finding of the bodies, after she freaked out on all the men jumping into her reports to yell "grab her by the p--y," and he even had her rival, Serina, murdered on camera.
He also came to the "rescue" of Gary, after he'd been tied up by Winter and Ivy (!!) for assaulting Ivy at a Trump rally (pre-election), though his rescue involved handing Gary a saw and then watching him saw is own arm off to get out of his handcuffs, then helping him get to the polls.
Now, just because we're much more clear about how this cult works and why it works doesn't mean we're out of questions. We're particularly intrigued by the fact that Ivy and Winter had already met before Ivy and Ally hired her as a nanny. And not only that, but Ivy vaguely admitted to her that she and Ally were having problems.
Does that mean Ivy's a part of the cult too? And she hired Winter on purpose as part of the plan to drive Ally to the point where they could also bring her into the cult? Into it.
Also, shoutout to Dermot Mulroney, who showed up as Channel 7's skeezy lead anchor Bob who had lots of observations about women's nipples.
Are you having as much fun with this as we are, now that we know what's going on? Head to the comments!
American Horror Story: Cult airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on FX.